Before the Trial date, both parties are required to file exhibit
lists, witness lists and a trial brief. Each County has its own
set of local rules that specify the deadline for serving and
filing the exhibit list, witness list and trial brief. In
addition, a Judge may have their own department policies on Trial
protocol. For example, certain departments require the Petitioner
to use numbers for their exhibits while Respondent uses the
alphabet.
On the date of trial, make sure to bring three sets of the
exhibits: one for the opposing party and one to be submitted to
the Court. The third is for your own reference. It is helpful to
compile your exhibits into a Trial notebook. Your notebook should
include a section for all filed pleadings. Tabulate your notebook
and prepare a Table of Contents to ease in reference. You should
also practice in front of friends or family what you will say.
This will help to ease your nerves ahead of time. In preparing
your own testimony and that of your witnesses, write down the
facts that you need to establish to support your position. For
example, if the characterization of a house is at issue, you will
want to present your title documents and testify that what you
intend to submit as an exhibit is a true and correct copy of the
most recent title document. If your title document is a certified
copy, you can cite the evidence code that permits submission of
such a documents as self-authenticating as an official record.
As you present each exhibit, you will inform the Court, for
example, house title, which is marked as “Exhibit A.” After
authenticating the document, you will state, “I submit Exhibit A
into evidence.” The Judge will ask the other party if he or she
has any objections. If they do, you can argue as to why the
objection does not apply or you can argue that there is an
exception to the objection. Some Judges prefer that all exhibits
be submitted into evidence at the end of your case-in-chief.
Call your witnesses the day before to remind them of the date and
time of your Trial. Make sure they have secured transportation.
Let your witnesses know where they can access affordable parking,
on what floor the department is located, etc.
Unless the Judge states otherwise, the process begins with the
Petitioner. If that, is you, inform the Court as to how you intend
to proceed. You can choose to make an opening statement for that
purpose. It helps the Judge, as the trier of fact to follow the
structure of your case-in-chief if you inform him as to what he
can expect.
For example, you can inform the Court that you plan to present
your evidence on the community assets and debts, then your
separate property. Thereafter, you can discuss child custody and
visitation. Assuming that you are testifying on your behalf, you
can then end with your proposed figures on Spousal and
Child Support. This is known as your case-in-chief. When you are finished, let
the Court know “Petitioner rests.” The respondent can then
cross-examine you. The Judge may also have some questions for you.
You then have the opportunity for what is known as “redirect.”
This means you can explain any unfavorable information that the
Respondent elicited from you on cross-examination.
Then the Respondent presents their position on the issues. When
they rest, you can cross-examine them. Keep in mind that your
questions must be within the scope of the information they
testified on. When the Respondent and his or her witnesses testify
take notes. You will use these notes to create the questions for
cross-examination. A good rule to keep in mind that is you should
never ask a question that you do not know the answer to. If the
Respondent or his or her witnesses did not respond as you
expected, you can ask the question in another way. If the response
is damaging to your position, you can either impeach that
testimony or wait for redirect to repair your position. As a
self-represented party, you are also acting as your own attorney.
Therefore, you can object to the responses made by Respondent or
his or her witnesses either on direct or cross-examination.
Some common objections are relevance, non-responsive, narrative.
An objection based on relevance means that what is stated does not
relate to any disputed issue in the case. Non-responsive means
that the testimony did not respond to the question asked.
Narrative means that the response is a story rather than a simple
answer. Some testimony is objectionable for more than one reason.
If this happens, state all objections. If the Judge agrees with
your objection, he will state “sustained.” You can proceed with
the rest of your questions, or you can re-phrase the question. If
the Judge disagrees with your objection, he or she will state
“overruled,” which means the witness can proceed with the rest of
their testimony.
If you have any documents that contradict their testimony, you can
present them to the Court. This is known as impeachment evidence.
After you have concluded your case, you can choose to make a
closing statement. In the opening statement, you informed the
Court as to what you would present, e.g., “the evidence will show
that…” In the closing statement, you will summarize what you
presented. For example, “as shown by the testimony of witness A,
the house is my own separate property which I ask the Court to
confirm.”
At the end of the Trial, the Judge will ask if both sides rest.
Based on the Rules of Court Rule 3.1590(a), the Court must
announce a tentative decision which the Judge can do verbally or
by a written statement. This decision is not binding. It is simply
what the Judge intends to rule at that time. The actual judgment
may differ.
The Judgment is the official ruling of the Court. If the Court
asks one of the parties to prepare the Judgment, he or she must
provide the other side with a copy of the proposed Judgment who
then has 10 days (after service) to review and object to it. To
prevent disputes, it is a good idea to mail it certified. After 10
days (after service have elapsed, it can be submitted to the Court
without the approval of the other side. The Judge will sign it and
will return a conformed copy to both sides by mail. Typically, the
date of dissolution of the marriage is the same date as the Trial.
